by Richard Burkhao SDB
PUNE – MAHARASHTRA, NOVEMBER 22, 2013: The Salesians of Don Bosco Youth Centre, Pune organized a 2-day under 14 football tournament on 16th and 17th November 2013. 
The objective of this tournament was to give the children from the slum areas an opportunity to display their football skills and other talents. The organizing committee was headed by Br. Dinesh who did a marvelous job getting things done. He was assisted by Brs. Ashwin, George and Shaun.
All the teams who participated in this tournament had been looking forward to this event from the day it was made known to them more interestingly it was a pleasant sight to see so many children from near and far joining this football venture. The coaches of the respective teams also did a fine job training their players.
Though it was first time the community hosted a football tournament, it was really a success. Apart from the tournament matches between the various teams, the main attraction of the tournament was the exhibition match between Pune FC under 16 team versus the best players from the various teams who participated in the tournament.
The final match was played between Don Bosco and J. N. Pettit boys in which Don Bosco team won 3-1. Anas the captain of the Pune FC senior team, Prakash, Othalo the dynamic shooters of the Pune FC team and Pratik Yadav the marketing Assistant manager of the teams were the chief guests for the event.
"I enjoyed every moment on the ground" was the comment by Ratan the top scorer of the tournament. While Naveen the captain of the Don Bosco winning team expressed his gratitude to the fathers and brothers of Don Bosco Youth Centre for organizing the tournament. Amar Pardeshi their coach congratulated them for their performance.